21 Enigma
Yamanaka Ino was an enigma to the young Uzumaki. At first he thought that maybe she was just thanking him for saving her and helping her pick some flowers.
He wasn't anyone special after all.
Then the whole thing with the bento happened. His conflict with a bunch of snot nosed kids that despite his age, were lower in intelligence.
He thought, 'cool she made this herself?'
'A handmade bento for me?'
He was quite happy then, though he did think that maybe she was just practicing and using him as a test dummy. After all that was the most logical thing he could think of.
She could thank him with a meal whilst practicing her cooking. He was even willing to give her some reviews.
That way, when she got better at cooking it would please her precious Sasuke-kun more…
At least that was what he thought.
Then the whole thing after the conflict with Inuzuka Kiba happened.
She smiled brilliantly whilst promising him that she would make him another one.
He wondered why she would do so…
Why was her smile so captivatingly beautiful in his eyes?
Why? Why did she want to make him another one?
Why did it seem like she wanted to get closer to him?
Why did it almost seem like… she wanted to befriend him?
All these questions were what plagued the boy named Uzumaki Naruto.
He couldn't possibly fathom the idea of it. Sure back when he first enrolled, when he was just a naive child, he might have been thrilled.
But that was years ago, he long gotten comfortable with being alone.
And yet…
And yet…
Why did he seem happy?
He thought that he outlived such childish thoughts years ago?
All these questions gave him something to ponder on.
Was he unconsciously happy that people wanted to finally form bonds with him?
Was it also the reason why he couldn't take that last step to sever the bond he had with the third hokage?
'No!' He roared inwardly
He couldn't possibly be!
After all he resolved himself to being alone! He couldn't possibly be having second thoughts on it!
…
…
…
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" A feminine voice snapped him out his thoughts.
He turned his head to look at the figure that sat next to him.
There she was, the person who gave him a headache, a multitude of different emotions every time he thought of her.
Yamanaka Ino.
"Geez, don't you know it's rude to ignore someone when they are talking to you?!" She pouted which he found… adorable?
What was happening to him?
"Fine… sorry" Naruto reluctantly spoke.
"Hmph, you should at least pay attention to the person that's making you lunch!" She snorted.
Yes, he somehow found himself spending his time with the Yamanaka heiress during break.
How?
He had no idea. She just randomly sat next to him before class started.
She said that this time she would sit next to him from now on so she could give him the bento when it's still fresh.
As not to repeat what happened yesterday, when he didn't come in time. It was her way of giving it to him on time.
And yet… in the end they ended up spending their lunch break together.
"As you were saying… Yamanaka-san?" He asked. He was thinking so hard that he forgot what she was even talking about.
Their whole 'conversation' was just Yamanaka Ino talking, and he listening.
"You!" She said with narrowed eyes before ultimately giving up with a sigh.
"You're impossible… N- Uzumaki-kun" The blonde princess said.
"You eat my cooking and then just forget about me…" She said aggrieved
*Gasp!*
"C-could you just be using me?!" She acted out which actually caused a reaction from Naruto.
"H-hey!" He hurriedly said with panic before he regained himself.
"Don't joke about that… I hate people using other people the most" He said seriously as he looked the heiress in the eye.
"A-ah… S-sorry" Yamanaka Ino said as she flushed lightly at how he blue his eyes were and how it stared at her.
*Ding!*
*Ding!*
*Ding!*
The sound of a bell rang out as it interrupted them.
Sighing the girl shook her head.
"Never mind" She said "Let's go before we're late for class!" She said as she packed up the finished bento's.
"…"
Naruto looked at her with a piercing stare before he mumbled slightly.
"Maybe… this isn't so bad…"
Ino who heard mumbling looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Did you says something?"
"No…" Naruto said as he snatched the containers that was in her hands.
Wrapping them up in the cloth before carrying it and making his way towards the exit of the rooftop, though just before he crossed the door to enter he stopped and turned his head.
"What are you staring at? We're going to be late…" He snapped at her.
"Also… it's Naruto… I don't like formalities" He said before he left.
Ino who was hurrying after had a grin that formed across her face.
Naruto might not have noticed, but from her perspective, she saw how his ears were bright red. Almost to the point of the color matching his hair.
"Hey! Did you forget that I have storage scrolls? Why did you take them?" Ino said with a smile as she laughed and followed after the red head.
...
...
...
Though unknown to the young Uzumaki, he was the direct cause of two very surprising outcomes that happened within the confines of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
The first, was something that became known to most of if not all chunin and jonin. Why? Simply because of how surprising the news was. It was such a shocking development.
One of Konoha's most feared and powerful shinobi, Kakashi of the Sharingan, renounced his position of Anbu Captain. He had retired from the anbu!
What's more, he asked to become just a regular everyday jonin!
It shocked all of the shinobi in the village, except a group of Kakashi's peers. They were more thrilled and relieved that the man got out of the anbu. It seemed that they were the classmates of said shinobi.
As for the other surprising matter, this piece of news was not known to most of if not all living in Konoha except those involved.
Why?
Because it involved the inner workings of the village. It involved those who had the final say in village matters. Four people who were once under the squadron led by the second hokage himself.
The third hokage and the three village advisors.
It was a meeting of these four individual, yet in the end it ended with a bit of a conflict. Of course it didn't end up having anything physical but it definitely tensed and soured the relationship of the four!
The confrontation of the third hokage and his very own advisors!
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Chapter End
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